Editor’s Pick: Highlights of 2017

 
Tidal Energy Today’s editors have compiled the list of news from tidal and wave energy sectors that have marked the year behind us.

Pieces of puzzle coming together for Swansea tidal lagoon

After almost one year since the UK government commissioned the review into the tidal lagoon energy, the head of the review, Charles Hendry, released its findings in a report published on January 12, 2017.

Charles Hendry found that tidal lagoons can help UK deliver security of electricity supply and its decarbonization commitments, and urged the UK government to green-light the ‘pathfinder’ Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project.

Giant wave device sails across Atlantic for Wave Hub trials

US-based wave energy developer GWave has unveiled plans to deploy a 9MW wave energy device at the Wave Hub testing center in UK.

The device floats on surface of the ocean and pitches with the swells as the waves pass underneath. Inside the device there are weighs which swing in counter motion to generate electricity.

GWave is targeting summer 2018 to deploy the device.

Magallanes launches full-scale floating tidal platform

In April 2017, Magallanes Renovables launched its multi-megawatt floating tidal platform in Vigo, Galicia, north-west of Spain.

The full-scale device weighs 350 tonnes, and is 42 meters long. The blades of the turbines are 19 meters in diameter, while the system’s power is rated up to 2MW.

WaveEL wave device powers Norwegian grid

Waves4Power’s wave energy system started delivering electricity to the Norwegian grid on June 2, 2017.

The system, comprised of the WaveEL buoy, a connection hub, and custom designed proprietary marine cables, was installed at Runde test site, off the west coast of Norway. WaveEL device was subsequently retrieved and the tests at Runde came to an end.

MeyGen claims world’s first as it welcomes final AHH turbine

Atlantis Resources reinstalled the third Andritz Hydro Hammerfest (AHH) tidal turbine for the MeyGen tidal energy project back in August. At that time, the project was approaching a 2GWh milestone of tidal power generation.

The fourth and final turbine for this phase of the project was installed in October 2017. By then, the total MeyGen production surpassed 2.6GWh, with over 800MWh of energy dispatched to grid during the month of September.

Orkney Isles light up with Scotrenewables tidal power

 
Scotrenewables Tidal Power’s SR2000 produced 116MWh in less than a week of continuous generation, providing nearly 7% of Orkney’s electricity demand in August 2017. The power was produced from the 2MW floating tidal generator during ongoing trials at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

On shorter periods, the SR2000 output’s contribution to the Orkney grid exceeded 25% of demand over a seven day period, the Scottish-based tidal energy developer said.

EMEC boasts first tidal-powered hydrogen generation

In August, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) produced hydrogen gas using electricity generated from tidal energy, demonstrating the sector’s potential to contribute to clean replacement for polluting fuels.

This was the first time that hydrogen was produced using tidal power anywhere in the world.

SINN Power agrees commercial wave energy project in Africa

Cape Verde’s Maritime and Port Office (AMP) and German-based wave energy developer SINN Power signed a contract for the installation of a wave energy converter in Cape Verde back in September 2017.

The goal of the project is to supply a sustainable shrimp farm on São Vicente island with 100% renewable electricity. SINN Power plans to cover the shrimp farm’s energy needs by installing a wave energy converter array backed up by a solar power plant within the next three years.

Nova Scotia makes Bay of Fundy open for tidal business

The government of Nova Scotia has introduced amendments to the Marine Renewable-energy Act that allow the province to grant demonstration permits for tidal energy projects of up to 5MW anywhere in the Bay of Fundy.

The amendments will also allow allow companies to sell the electricity they generate at a lower price than existing tidal feed-in-tariffs.

Scotrenewables hits 1GWh tidal generation mark

In November, Scotrenewables Tidal Power’s floating tidal energy turbine SR2000 clocked up over 1GWh of tidal energy generation at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) at record time. Initial generation started earlier in 2017, after which Scotrenewables claimed it set the world record with the highest export level from a tidal turbine of 2.2MW.

SME installs PLAT-I tidal platform

 
The 280kW PLAT-I platform was installed on November 25, 2017, and within two days after the installation, the SME and Schottel Hydro teams completed the first phase of commissioning the system.

The work resulted in first power generation, and according to the developers, all four Schottel Instream Turbines (SITs) mounted on the platform reached their rated power of 70kW each, and proved their performance characteristics.

Also, SME said the platform demonstrated ‘excellent stability’ throughout a range of tide and weather conditions, operating autonomously through its platform control system during spring tides in December 2017.

SIMEC dives deeper in tidal sector by acquiring 50% of Atlantis

International energy, infrastructure and natural resources group SIMEC has signed a conditional agreement with Atlantis Resources to acquire 49.9% of tidal energy developer’s share capital.

Upon trading re-admission, Atlantis will be renamed to SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited.

The Edinburgh-based tidal energy developer has in turn agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of SIMEC Uskmouth Power Limited, the owner of a power plant in South Wales.

Schottel Hydro scales down Bay of Fundy tidal ambitions

Schottel Hydro has decided to use smaller floating tidal energy platforms for the planned Bay of Fundy project in Canada. The move comes following the business strategy revision by Schottel Hydro and its wholly owned subsidiaries TidalStream and Black Rock Tidal Power (BRTP).

Namely, BRTP planned to deploy a 2.5MW semi-submersible Triton platform equipped with 40 Schottel Hydro SIT turbines next year, but now, the Bay of Fundy will be welcoming a smaller version which is closer to the 280kW PLAT-I platform recently deployed off Scotland.

Foundation laid for CorPower wave in Orkney

 
Swedish wave energy developer CorPower Ocean has completed the foundation installation and the delivery of its C3 wave energy converter to Scotland. Orkney-based marine operator Leask Marine conducted the installation operation of a bottom-based foundation module at the European Marine Energy Centre’s (EMEC) Scapa Flow site.

The C3 device is currently undergoing final checks, with installation and on-site commissioning expected at the beginning of 2018.

Wello nets 10MW wave energy order for Bali

Late in December 2017, Gapura Energi Utama (GEU), an Indonesian infrastructure construction company, placed an order to Wello to supply it with a 10MW wave energy park equipped with Penguin devices.

The park will be located next to Nusa Penida Island in Bali and it will be the largest wave energy park globally, according to the Finnish wave energy developer Wello.

The delivery will take place after the permitting process is finalized, which is estimated to occur in the end of 2018.

Tidal Energy Today